Friday, September 29, 2006

How is it that my little blog about my little neighborhood got on your radar?Thanks for linking here. Seriously, that's pretty terrific. I've gotten about a zillion hits.... Maybe there is someone that dreams of opening that perfect little restaurant in the middle of dc amongst your readers!

thanks again,

The Begging Bloomingdalian.(see... that could be a good name for a place!)

I'm actually very suprised that this place hasn't been turned into a restaurant of some sort. Seems perfect. It has the possibility of sidewalk seating. Neighbors will flock to it. A diner anyone? La Loma 5?

Fairfield Residential will construct three large buildings ranging in height from 11 stories, stepping down to 9 and 7 stories as it approaches Eckington Place NE. There will also be townhouses on the portion of the site that borders the Wholesale Flower Market. There will be 625 to 675 units, which will be a mixture of condominium and rental units. The final condo/apartment mix will be dependent on market conditions as the units come on line. There will be 750 - 800 underground parking spaces. 8% of the square footage, or 65-70 units interspersed throughout the building will be affordable workforce housing, affordable to households earning less than 80% of area median income.

Q Street NE will be extending through the middle of the site and dedicated to the city as part of the Office of Planning's goal to rebuild the L'Enfant grid, when possible. There will be a lighted walkway connecting Q Street NE to the Metropolitan Branch Trail vis a vis a dedicated easement through a Pepco-owned site. That connection to the Branch Trail will allow residents to walk directly to the metro station without having to cross New York and Florida Avenues at street level.

There will be 15,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail space with preference being given to restaurant/deli use. That will be located at the corner of Eckington Place NE and Harry Thomas Way NE, providing a good retail location to serve FedEx, ATF, XM, and the community, as they come and go from the metro.

This Bloomingdale-based event is part of the city-wide youth drug prevention Blitz that's taking place on September 30th. Organizations all over DC will be sponsoring youth gatherings at parks and other facilities in every ward that day. The focus of the Blitz is for the youth to have some fun while also getting some positive messages about drug prevention. The target audience is youth ranging from 8 to 16, but ALL are welcome!

Yayah's is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to serving DC's youth. According to its Web site, "Yayah's, Inc.'s primary focus is on giving at-risk District of Columbia youths what they require to adapt to, acquire, and appreciate a healthy, productive lifestyle. We actively reach toward those who have fallen off the path and work to prevent others from doing the same. We've incorporated unique beneficial components into our programming. Yayah's, Inc. is more than another average group home. Our mission, vision, and methods are significantly different." Much of Yayah's funding comes from DC's Addiction Prevention Recovery Agency. For more on the organization, go to www.yayahs.org

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Here is a post by ANC candidate Kris Hammond concering the St. Martins vs. The Eckington Community affordable housing conflict.

-Kris talks with Neal Drobenare and he makes a lot of promises about the project.-Apparently the Edgewood Civic Association speaks for Eckington, since its "official".-The application for historical status for the convent building got circumvented with a deal and concession by St. Martins.-The number of units has slightly decressed.-Its still messy and disruptive for our community.

Friday, September 22, 2006

No, that isn’t a current news headline. But, it could be one you’ll see in the future. Join other citizens of like mind at a meeting at 7:00 p.m. at Windows Café & Market next Wednesday, September 27th to begin putting together an agenda for the greening of DC using Bloomingdale as the proverbial lab rat.

Citizens of Green cities can boast of cleaner air, water, and all the other things that go to make up a healthy ecosystem. Green cities also provide safe, reliable, and non-polluting public transportation options, walkable streets, loads of green space, broad access to and use of renewable energy resources. They also seek to pioneer the use of green building techniques in public buildings and to encourage green building among industries, businesses, and private citizens through effective legislation, building codes, and targeted funding opportunities.

Being Green can be all that has been mentioned and so much more. Every citizen of Bloomingdale wants and deserves a green neighborhood and a green city for themselves, their children, and for future generations of Bloomingdalians.

Have your say about what you’d like to see and learn from others as we begin the work of charting a greener path for DC at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 27th at Windows Café and Market. For more information contact Cassandra Costley at 202-462-3737 or sandysan55@hotmail.com.

The Bloomingdale Civic Association Beautification Committee is meeting Monday 18 Sept at 6PM at Windows Market & Cafe - prior to the main BCA meeting at 7PM at St George's Episcopal Church. The BCA Beautification Committee is working on some exciting ideas to make Bloomingdale bloom even more.

Attend the meeting or contact Cassandra Costley at sandysan55 (@) hotmail.com for more information

Saturday, September 16, 2006

A neighbor allowed me to post these images he took of Adrian Fenty and Harry Thomas on wednesday morning thanking the city and ward for voting for them. generally there are drugs dealers hanging on that corner. One well dressed gentleman asked me if i would perchance care to purhase some very fine smoke/blow on that very corner, the very same evening of Fenty's thank you showcase. Once there was a guy in a wheelchair selling out of a tackle box.

Friday, September 15, 2006

This Tuesday, September 19, 2006, is the ANC 5C meeting to be held at the Harry Thomas Recreation Center, 1743 Lincoln Road NE, beginning at 7:00 PM.

The invited guests include: 1) a person to speak on the community amenities package for the consolidated PUD-Florida & Q Street LLC (1600 North Capitol Street NW),

2) a person to speak about the community amenities package for the Fairfield project at Capitol Commerce Center, 3) a person from Holland + Knight to speak on the PUD for the Washington Gateway (Florida & New York Avenues NE) hmmmm... i just posted about that last week.....

4) Maybelle Bennett, Director of the Howard University Community Association, regarding the HU Living and Learning Center,

5) Craig Parker, General Counsel, Catholic University Project,

6) Robert Taylor, Thoron Development (14 O Street NW) and the Fifth District.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

I'm interested in BID's and what they have done to improve neighborhoods. Still, i am a bit uneasy about the privatization of public services.

here is a washington post article about adams morgan with this quoteI don't think we should be doing the work that we're already paying taxes for," said Bill Duggan, owner of Madam's Organ, a popular bar, who wants the improvement district to dissolve. "It's insulting to the community to have to pay for security or trash removal. It's a testament to the inefficiency of the government.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

I was all around today on errands and his supporters were freakin everywhere.

i was cut off by a van plastered in Orange signs . warning: If you are advertising something on your van; drive courteously. that goes for you contractors too. Mr Flood, you know who i'm talking about.

Anyway. I saw what must have been the fenty victory party tent on u street. Or something akin. It looked like a Fenty family renunion, what with the t-shirts and all.

I saw a large moving billboard/sound board of Marie Johns driving around preaching her message.

The line was really short over at Dumbar and there were about 100 people handing out information. mostly holding green signs.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

One of the disappointing things about downtown Washington is how limited and boring its retail offerings are, particularly considering the wealth and sophistication of the millions of people who live and work in the District or visit here each year.

but there was a good piece of anon sarcasm in todays bloomingdale community emailI can’t wait ...to shop for all my off-brand and seconds/reject clothing at the Brentwood Shopping Center while my car gets stolen from the parking lot.

AJ Wright is scheduled for opening on September 28th. Construction for Citi-Bank is complete and fixtures are being installed. Construction for all other stores will be completed by September 15th. All stores will open by the end of October in time for the holiday season.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------All this does make me think of the more intelligent and better designed plans that are happening in Columbia Heights... but here in ward five we're happy with the scraps, huh?

Apparently H streets got its own private public works force hitting the streets. I exagerate, of course, but i am saddened and impressed by our city government that fails us and our businesses that are trying to make up for it. NoMa is working on a BID, but the restaurants/bars over in the Atlas District are a bit more admirable since they are just doing it without the officiousness.

If only North Capitol had a Joe Englert. Perhaps one of our neighbors could fill the niche?

Monday, September 04, 2006

Here is an article about developements in NoMa. The area for the Business Improvement District is proposed to be roughly the area north of Massachusetts, south of R Street NE, west of Third Street NE and east of New Jersey Avenue NW.

That doesn't really give a clear idea where the northern boundary in NW is, though it may extend into the very southern section of Bloomingdale. This seems like a promising move for the area and for business along these corridors.